Code Your Game

Dive into MakeCode Arcade and begin turning your game ideas into reality! This lesson is all about experimenting and learning as you starting building your game. Don't worry if you don't finish everything today—making a game is a journey, and you're just getting started. Let's have fun creating and exploring what's possible!

Learning Goals Learning Outcomes Teacher Notes

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1 Introduction
2 Set Up Your Project
3 Create Sprites
4 Program the Mechanics
5 Design Levels
6 Add Challenges and Rewards
7 Share for Feedback

1 - Introduction

Today, we're embarking on an exciting journey to bring your game idea to life using MakeCode Arcade.

Remember, the goal for today is to start transforming your concepts into a playable game. It's important to understand that game development is a creative and flexible process. This means you might not need to follow every step below in exact order. Feel free to prioritise the parts of your game that you're most excited about or that are crucial to its core gameplay.

Don't worry if you don't get your entire game finished today. The world of game development is all about iteration and improvement. Many famous games started as small projects and grew over time through updates and new features. What's most important is making a start and learning as you go.

10 points

2 - Set Up Your Project

Open up MakeCode Arcade and start a new project. Give your game a title that reflects its theme or main character to make it easily identifiable.

Arcade: How to create a new project

Create a new Arcade project using the makecode.com website.

5 points

3 - Create Sprites

Use the editor to create sprites for your main character, enemies, and other key objects. Sprites are the visual elements that players interact with, so they're crucial to your game.

Arcade: How to create a sprite in Arcade

Click on the gray box in the sprite block to open the Editor. You can choose a sprite from the Gallery or you can paint your own sprite using the Editor.

20 points

4 - Program the Mechanics

Begin coding the basic mechanics. This could be movements for your character, interactions between sprites (like collecting objects or battling enemies), and setting up the game's physics (like jumping or flying).

20 points

5 - Design Levels

Start designing your game levels. You can create backgrounds, obstacles, and place your sprites within these levels. Remember, it's okay to start with just one level and expand later.

20 points

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Code Your Game

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1 - Introduction

2 - Set Up Your Project

3 - Create Sprites

4 - Program the Mechanics

5 - Design Levels

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Learning Points